Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a British Christmas custom that has interested me ever
since I first came to Scotland in 2003. I was first exposed to Boxing
Day in 1998 when I was studying in Vancouver, Canada. The Brits
have developed a rich tradition of Boxing Day. It is usually celebrated
on 26 December, the day after Christmas. But if the day after Christ-
mas falls on the weekend, it can be observed on the following Monday.
This year, however, it was observed on Saturday, the day after Christ-
mas.

In Britain Boxing Day is a public holiday, just like Christmas. Therefore
it is considered another day off from work. But in recent times Boxing
Day has been a time for stores to offer clearance sales. I heard about
people lining up several hours before store doors opened in order to be
the first people to take advantage of Boxing Day sales. When the doors
were opened people made a mad rush to get to the items on sale.

But Boxing Day has also been a special time for families to do fun things
together. They watch sports, play board games, go on walks in the coun-
try, and eat leftovers from the Christmas dinner. It is also customary for
business owners to give Christmas bonuses to their workers and home-
owners to give tips to the people who deliver the paper or mow the lawn.
It is also a day to find ways to help the poor. In Britain Boxing Day is a
very special day.

Meanwhile Fife, the region in which I live, continues to be Britain's scene
of an Arctic deep freeze. There were snow flurries again today and more
are expected before New Year's Day. The last time I saw so much snow
and experienced so much cold was a wonderful time in South Dakota in
2002 and 2003. But that seems a whole world away.

New Year's Blessings to you and yours,

Christmas Greetings!

I do not have any Christmas service responsibilities for Christmas, 2009;
nor do I have any friends from the recent years around any more. I do
not have family or close friends here in Scotland, so for me it has been a
calm week before Christmas. Everybody around me seems to be in a tiz-
zy. I have enjoyed restful times to reflect on Jesus as the reason for the
season. But I am already looking forward to celebrating Jesus next year
as minister of a church or churches someplace here in Scotland. I wonder
where the Lord will send me?

For nearly a week now there have been several inches of snow on the
ground all up and down Britain. I have seen snow here in the area be-
fore, but it has always melted within an hour or two of falling. This time,
however, it has not melted. Every day there seems to be just a little bit
more snow that has fallen. The snow has made this Christmas time spe-
cial.

There are special services in the five churches here in Cupar tonight,
Christmas Eve, and tomorrow, Christmas. A dear friend of mine, the
minister of the central Church of Scotland congregation in St. Andrews,
has invited me over for Christmas with him and his family. I look for-
ward to that. I spent last Christmas with them and had a delightful
time.

What is most important to me is Jesus, the reason for the season. I can
easily forget about him in my usual routines. But Advent, Christmas,
Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Good Friday, and Easter are very special
times for me. As the year runs its course I am refreshed by remember-
ing and reflecting on all that Jesus has done for us.

I have really been nourished by this Advent and Christmas season. May
you truly experience that Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

Christmas blessings to you and yours,

A Christmas Treat!

Ever since I arrived here in Cupar in late October, 2008, I have
heard about the Lochiehead Nativity Play. So many people I talked
to said it was something I had to experience. Last year's six perfor-
mances over three days came and went before I could arrange to get
a ticket to attend a performance. I hoped this year would be differ-
ent, but it looked like this year I would not have the opportunity to
see the play.


For the past twelve or so years there has been a Nativity play put
on at the Lochiehead Farm, about 8 miles from Cupar. Thirty to
forty volunteers from all over the area start practicing in mid-
November in preparation for the six showings the weekend just be-
fore Christmas. They are all ages, ranging from the baby who 'plays'
the baby Jesus, to the 70-year old who plays Simeon, and all ages
in between. Of course the baby and the infant's mother as Mary are
different each year. The baby's father is offered the opportunity to
play Joseph, but often the father declines and another man plays the
part. Some of the babies who have been Baby Jesus in earlier years
are now old enough to have parts in the play as shepherd boys. One
Mary of several years back has another part in this year's Nativity
play. Some volunteers have been involved for many years, but for
many others this is their first year in the play.

I wanted to see the play, but I couldn't find anyone with whom I
could get a ride to the farm. It is really difficult for me to get to the
play because I do not have a car. But on the day of the first show-
ings a good friend invited me to go to the evening showing. It real-
ly made my Christmas season! That night I was at the Lochiehead
Nativity Play and treated to a wonderful time. It is really quite a
production.


There were two or three inches of fresh snow when the whole cast
processed to an area just in front of the gathered crowd out in the
open air. Torches provided light and there was an excellent sound
system. Thus began the Christmas Story played out before us. We
watched as Joseph guided a pregnant Mary on a donkey to find a
place to stay the night. Finally Joseph was offered a place in a barn,
and there Jesus was born. We watched as shepherds tending sheep
in a nearby field heard an angel announce to them the birth of Jesus,
their Messiah. Then we proceeded past mooing cattle to the barn
where Mary, Joseph, and the new born baby Jesus were. I think
the baby slept the whole time of the performance! We watched the
shepherds come in to check out the angel's announcement. Then
Wise Men in stunning costumes rode up to the barn on horses and
entered the barn to worship the new born King. Simeon, Anna, and
Herod all made appearances in one way or another. I was really
caught up in the Story! It truly was a Christmas treat that I will
long remember!

Christmas blessings to you and yours,

A Week in the Life of Jeff

Even though I am no longer the assistant minister of Cupar Old Parish
Church, I still find that my days are jammed full of things I have to do.
Every day except Sunday I work on my thesis rewrite and search for
pastoral vacancies, hoping that for one of them I might be just the can-
didate they are looking for. Last week I enquired about two vacancies
that I was keen on. Unfortunately I was informed that both congrega-
tions were on the verge of calling a new minister. I was a bit disap-
pointed, but I have continued to search for the congregation(s) that
God has planned for me.

This past week was also filled with social events and get togethers with
friends. One night was the Guild Christmas dinner. Most Church of Scot-
land congregations have a social group for the women of the congregation.
Ken, the minister of the church, and I were invited, but Ken had another
meeting scheduled. So I was the only male among thirty or so women. It
was nice. I savored the salmon I ordered, received one of my favorite
Christmas gifts, chocolate, and enjoyed delightful conversation with Mar-
garet, a table companion to my right. She shared about her experiences
as a nurse during the London Blitz in World War II; her service as a Brit-
ish Army nurse in North Africa, Italy, Belgium, and Germany; being
courted by her future husband in all of those theaters of operation; and
being shocked by all the devastation when the Allies began the occupa-
tion of defeated Germany. I was fascinated by her adventures as a
young woman.

One day last week I went into St. Andrews, just a 20-minute bus ride
away, to meet some friends. Rory is the minister of the town-center
Church of Scotland congregation in St. Andrews. He has been very en-
couraging of my transfer from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to the
Church of Scotland. I will be spending Christmas Day with Rory and his
family, something I really look forward to. Then I met with Bruce, a fel-
low Presbyterian minister, who flew in from Seattle to do research and
writing on his thesis. He became a dear friend the past two years when
he and his family lived in St. Andrews. We shared an office together and
I was often invited over to their house for meals and get togethers. To-
day he flew back to Seattle.

Over the past few months I have become involved with an ecumenical
healing prayer ministry here in Cupar. A group of us have been meeting
together weekly to pray about the ministry going public in mid-January.
Today a small group of us met together to receive further training about
the healing prayer ministry. I hope to be here long enough to see it start
up in Cupar. It is something I'd like to see established in the church I am
called to, hopefully soon.

As they say here in Scotland, 'That's me!' I continue to ask for your pray-
ers as I discern where the Lord wants me to serve Him and His Kingdom
here in Scotland.

Blessings to you and yours,

A Weekend in the Highlands

I had a wonderful adventure in the Highlands of Scotland this past week-
end, one that I am still savoring. Stewart, a friend, invited me to travel
to two ordinations and inductions of two mutul friends. Stewart is a tad
younger than I am who sensed the Lord calling him to leave a success-
ful professional career as an engineer to enter the ministry in the Church
of Scotland. This past year as I was doing my familiarization Placement
at Cupar Old Parish Church, I attended four conferences where Stewart
was also present as part of his minsterial training.

I appreciated that Stewart invited me go with him to the services for
two colleagues who had also been at the four conferences. Stewart trav-
elled north from his home near Edinburgh, to where I live, to Cupar, in
the Kingdom of Fife, in the eastern part of Scotland. Then we went west
through the southern portion of the Highlands. I enjoyed the beauty of
the Highlands, often with summits obscured by low clouds and a few
higher peaks already crowned with snow.

Our first destination was the small village of Taynuilt in Argyll, just elev-
en miles east of Oban, a a significant ferry port on the western shore of
the Scottish mainland. We were given Scottish hospitality by Evelyn,
Stewart's eighty-something aunt. We enjoyed soup and filled rolls be
fore we went to the ordination and induction service, and the induction
social after that. Our friend Robert was ordained into the Church of Scot-
land, and inducted to ministry to three small congregations in the area.
Robert is single, in his early 40s, and a former chef and mail carrier. He
has the amazing ability to laugh easily and heartily and is quick to hug.
Robert brings considerable love and energy to the three congregations in
his charge. He has a lot to offer them and will be quite a blessing to them.
Then the large crowd crammed into the small community hall for the in-
duction social gathering. I was treated to a wonderful spread of finger
food, Scottish songs and music, and short speeches. It was quite an after-
noon.

Evelyn prepared a chicken dinner for us afterwards. Evelyn and her late
husband had lived in the house since 1964 and raised their family there.
The house had a nice homey feel to it and gave evidence of Evelyn's hus-
band's handiwork. She was quite a gracious hostess and we had long talks
over meals, washing dishes, and resting in the sitting room. Many fami-
lies I have met in Scotland have sons and daughters or other relatives
who have emigrated to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the USA. Eve-
lyn has two daughters and their families down under in Australia. She
has been there ten times to be with them.

After a good sleep, Evelyn, Stewart, and I went to the 11:30 service at
the church in Taynuilt, just a short walk away from Evelyn's home. It
is sometimes the custom that a friend of a newly ordained minister
preach on the first Sunday in the charge of a new minister. Robert
asked his recent ministry supervisor to 'preach him in.' Robert's friend
preached him in at the other service at 10:00 and then they rushed to
Taynuilt for the 11:30 service. The church was packed with friends and
others wishing Robert well, but the size of the congregation will proba-
bly be substantially smaller next Sunday.

After church and a hearty lunch Stewart and I went to another friend's
ordination and induction as an assistant minister at a large church near
Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. On the way we stopped off at the
shore of Loch Lomond to view the wind-tossed waves. The ordination
and induction was quite an affair. The large congregation could really
sing out and it was amazing to listen to the singing. Various ministers
were decked out in all their finest clergy garb. All I can say is that I hope
I won't have to dress up like that.

Then it was back home to Cupar, arriving after 10pm. I enjoyed talking
and sharing with Stewart. He's a fine pastor. It was nice to explore other
parts of Scotland with someone who knew where they were going. It was
also good to see different expressions of the life and mistry of the Church
of Scotland.

Blessings to you and yours,

Thesis Update

Well, I'm still working on my thesis and enjoying the challenge of devel-

oping it further. To make a long story short, the University has granted

me another year to work on my thesis. I have until November 2, 2010,

to resubmit. The issue was that I had done significant rewriting with-

out having received written notification of three issues my two readers

wanted me to address in the rewrite. I had done considerable rewrit-

ing of my thesis without the guidance of of the notification. University

policy is clear that issues identified by the readers must be addressed

in a rewrite.

I had not addressed the three issues identified by my two readers be-
cause I had not received the letter that had been sent to me. My read-
ers, however, quickly realized this and on my behalf asked the Uni-

versity to grant me another year to address the issues they had iden-

tified. I am grateful for that because the issues they wanted me to ad-

dress are excellent issues. It was important to me to get their feed-

back on my work at that stage. That's the value of a doctoral program.

So, I have my work cut out for me. Fortunately I have considerable free
time to work on my thesis at this time. I no longer have responsibilities
at Cupar Old Parish Church and I am in the process of looking into vacan-
cies where I can serve. I have had opportunities to do plenty of reading
and reflecting. I would like to get the thesis resubmitted before I take
another church here in Scotland. With the insight of my two readers,
I am delving into areas I never thought of when I was doing my re-
search for the thesis earlier. I am grateful to them and to the Lord for
the extra time and the excellent feedback of my two readers.

The continued work on the thesis is challenging to me. It is now six years
since I first arrived in Scotland. When I arrived in 2003 I expected that

I would be back in the USA by this time. But here I am still working on

my thesis and looking for a pastoral ministry opportunity with the

Church of Scotland. During 2007 and 2008 I moved around a lot, partic-

ularly during the summer of 2008 when I was in St. Andrews, Holy Is-

land, and Wales. During that summer letters about my thesis work and

my immigration status were sent to me, but were not delivered. Last

January I received the immigration letter and last month I saw a copy

of the letter that I was supposed to have received with the issues that

they expected me to address. Fortunately the Lord has given me the

grace and mercy to face those those two challenges and others.

So if you do pray for me, I would welcome your prayers on my be-
half regarding my continued thesis rewrite.

Blessings to you and yours,

Missing Thanksgiving Day

I use my iPod to listen to various broadcasts from the States. I download
them the day after they are broadcasted in the US. Yesterday I was lis-
tening to prerecorded programs aired on Thanksgiving Day. Last Mon-
day different programs started talking about Thanksgiving plans and
friends emailed me with plans of what would be happening at their home
on Turkey Day. So, on Thursday I did feel a bit bummed. The day is so
uniquely American. The Canadians have their own Thanksgiving Day,
but the British people do not have anything like a national day of giv-
ing thanks. The Brits are a thankful people, but there is not the sense
of a national day to give thanks.

There was always a large number of American students and their families
at the University of St. Andrews, where I lived for over four years. The
Americans at the Divinity School would always gather together to plan a
big potluck dinner with some family doing a turkey with all the trimmings.
We would also invite friends from other countries to share time together.
But this year I am out of contact with the community, so I was on my
own.

But on Thursday I took time to give thanks to the Lord for all the bless-
ings that have been bestowed on me over all these years. I have so many
great memories of Thanksgiving Days at home in Longview, and then with
Mom in Kelso, of my nearly eighteen years of ministry in Boston, of spe-
cial Thanksgiving Days with American missionaries in Costa Rica. I real-
ly had a lot of fun remembering. I especially remembered Thanksgiv-
ings in Boston with my dear friend Janie, the people at Roxbury Presby-
terian Church, the staff of the Emmanuel Gospel Center, and with mem-
bers of the Montebello Community. When I was at the Fellowship-Eman-
uel Bookstore, the day after Turkey Day was always one of our busiest
days as people began their Christmas shopping. The Thanksgiving meal
was always the calm before the storm for me.

Most of all, I am thankful for the Lord's protection, provision, and guid-
ance over all these years. It has been very challenging, but I have al-
ways been brought back to the Lord's loving kindness and faithful-
ness. That is my prayer for you all.

Blessings to you and yours,

Free Fall

I feel like I am in a free fall. It is as if all my support lines have been cut
and I am falling fast with nothing to stop me. The past twelve months at
Cupar Old Parish Church were wonderful. I had a steady income, some-
thing I had not experienced since 2003, and a supportive Christian com-
munity around me. For once I had stability after moving eight times in
the two years before I moved to Cupar. I enjoyed the past year here in
the small town of Cupar in the Kingdom of Fife on the east coast of Scot-
land.

My time at Cupar Old ended November 1st, and I've been grieving leav-
ing that congregation where I served as assistant minister. But it was
planned that I would be there one year and then go on to a new congre-
gation someplace in Scotland. I have been through this time of transition
several other times in my life, but I always knew where I was going. One
time I headed to Boston to join the staff of the Emmanuel Gospel Center
and another time it was back to Kelso to be with my mom. Then it was to
Philip and Interior, South Dakota, to minister at two churches before go-
ing to St Andrews for university studies. Each time I had a place to go,
but now I don't. I do not yet have a place to go to.

I am being reminded again about yielding my life to the Lord and trust-
ing in God to lead me to where God wants me. They are lessons that I
have to keep learning over and over. There are six ministry positions
here in Scotland that attract my attention. Currently there are over 180
vacancies in the Church of Scotland, but I am especially attracted to the
six. I can imagine myself finding a wonderful place of ministry in each
of those six. It has been hard for me to narrow them down to two or
three top ones. They are all over Scotland: two are in urban settings,
two are in rural parishes, and two are in small towns. After praying
about this for several days, I requested further information about one
of the vacancies at an urban parish in Glasgow. I had the strongest
sense about that one, and I will pursue it until doors close.

Although this time of my life is as challenging as any other time in my life,
I see it as a wonderful opportunity for spiritual growth. So, if you remem-
ber me in your prayers, pray that I would continue to focus on Jesus and
not lose heart as I face a new set of challenges.

Blessings to you and yours,

A Door Closed

Last Tuesday morning I received a phone call from a church
that I had applied to fill a vacancy in September. The Vacan-
cy Committee had decided not to carry on with my application.
It is always difficult for me to receive news like that. I felt dis-
appointment and some discouragement. It was an end of a re-
lationship that I had enjoyed. But it's not meant to be.

The larger of the two churches involved was especially look-
ing for more a minister with more experience and leadership
skills than I have. Even though I had sensed that I was not
quite what they were looking for, I still had my hopes up. If
I had gone there I believe that I would have felt considerable
stress to perform in a way that was not me. I believe that the
Committee had been sensitive to God in their deliberations and
their final decision. I trust them in their discernment process.

So, the door has closed on that possibility. A good friend con-
soled me by sharing that when when God closes one door, God
always opens another one. I have been richly blessed by the
love and support of friends here in Cupar and St. Andrews. I
really have been blessed by them.

I have been eagerly looking at other vacancies that I believe
I would be a good candidate. I am seeking to be sensitive to a
door opening before me. It is actually exciting for me to be do-
ing that. If you pray for me, I would ask that you pray that I
would be patient in waiting, attentive to the Lord's leading, and
obedient to walk through the door God opens.

Blessings to you and yours,

Scottish Ministerial Courtship Practices

Two Sundays ago was my last day at Cupar Old Parish Church,
where I had been assistant minister for the past year. At a recep-
tion for me after the morning service I announced that I had ob-
tained my Certificate of Eligibility. I found out later that several
people were wondering if it meant I was an eligible bachelor now,
and thus looking for a wife. Well,...I might be or I might not.

The Certificate does mean that I am now a Church of Scotland
minister and that a congregation can call me to be their minis-
ter. Since September I have been interested in a linked charge
(two churches) in the north of Scotland. In early September I
went up to visit them and decided to continue the process with
them. Several members of the Vacancy Committee are coming
to Cupar Old to hear me conduct a full service this Sunday, 15
November.

I see this whole process to be like a courtship ritual between con-
gregations and ministers. It has been fun for me to go this far
through the process. It is all rather exciting to me.

If you do remember me in prayer, I hope you will lift up this
courtship process I'm in and this Sunday's service I'm con-
ducting.

Blessings to you and yours,

We Will Remember Them

It has been just over 90 years since the end of World War I, but
the tragic national wounds of the Great War are still felt deeply
by the British people. Today I experienced my seventh Remem-
brance Sunday, the Sunday closest to November 11, Remembrance
Day, when the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Nations re-
member the sacrifices of so many men so long ago in the trenches
of France and Belgium.

It seems that in every little village and town in England, Scotland,
and Wales there are monuments to the dead of two World Wars
and the long lists of sons killed in combat. The lists of names of the
war dead from the First World War are always much longer than
those of the Second World War. Hundreds of thousands of men
who served in the First War were slaughtered in the tenches and
in No Man's Land during the War to End All Wars. The British peo-
ple have vowed to never forget the sacrifices of men and women in
that Great War and in the other wars the United Kingdom has en-
gaged in. Even now they remember every time a fallen British sol-
dier is repatriated to Britain.

And so this morning the people of Cupar joined with large and small
communities throughout Britain and its former colonies to remem-
ber the fallen of World War I and all the wars Britain has fought. Here
in the small town of Cupar, a large crowd gathered at 10:40 at the
Memorial Monument in the center of town for a Service of Remem-
brance. I joined with them for the second year in a row. I attended
five similar remembrance services during my time in St. Andrews.

Three bagpipers in kilts led units of military cadets, active military
personnel, and veterans of other conflicts to the Monument. The
different military units all marched in with the uniquely smart British
fast march step. Four ministers from town churches read Scripture
passages and led in prayer. A large number of memorial wreathes
were laid at the base of the monument by family, friends, and civic
organizations to remember the fallen. Then we all sang God Save
the Queen. I always find it touching and I get tears in my eyes.

Many in the crowd then went to Remembrance Sunday services in
town churches. Since my time at Cupar Old Parish Church had ended
I went to the other Church of Scotland church in town. The guest min-
ister shared his concerns about the Remembrance Day services in a
very polite and respectable way. In line with the policy of the Church
of Scotland he rejects all war and nuclear arms and seeks every oppor-
tunity to promote peace and conflict resolution. He expressed his con-
cern about the Church sanctifying military action in foreign conflicts.
He reflected the dominant positions on antiwar protest and peace-
making positions held by by the Church of Scotland.

I, too, seek an end to war and the outbreak of peace. Although I con-
sider those who hold such views to be fine and good people, I also reck-
on them to be tragically naive and wrong. I expect that next year at
this time I will have to participate in such a service in a town or village
someplace in Scotland. I will do so as an American Christian minister.
But that is a topic for another posting.

I was very touched by the earlier service this morning. With sadness
I do remember the fallen.

Blessings to you and yours,

Sir Ziggy, the Tender Hearted

Sir Ziggy, the Tender Hearted, is the 4-year old male cat in
whose domain I have rented a room this past year in Cupar,
Scotland. He is the most gentle cat I have ever met. Ziggy
has a very mild-mannered disposition. When it comes to fight-
ing other cats, Ziggy is a pacifist. When aggressive cats ad-
vance on him, he slowly backs away into a protective place. I
have never witnessed Ziggy take offensive action against any
cat.

Nor have I seen Ziggy pounce on a mouse, although he did try
to sneak a dead one past me into the house some time ago. I
think the mouse might have died of fright because Ziggy likes
to play with mice, but he never takes any action to harm them.
Unfortunately I don't think the poor mouse experienced it that
way. It probably died of fright having this big scary creature
hounding it any time it moved. I have watched Ziggy play with
a mouse and then go off in search of other fun things to do, allow-
ing the mouse to flee if it wasn't paralyzed with fear. But Ziggy is
so tender hearted that it probably never entered his cat mind
that he was frightening the mice he played with.

Since the beginning of summer I have noticed that Ziggy is in a
serious conflictive relationship with another cat. The other cat
is a scrawny male Siamese cat who exhibits a bad attitude. He
takes every opportunity to bully tender hearted Ziggy. I have
seen Ziggy seemingly as paralyzed with fear as the mice he
plays with. I mean this Siamese cat is lean and mean, the epi-
tome of an ornery bully cat. I don't like him at all. I have tried to
exhort Sir Ziggy to stand up to the mean cat, but what do I
know? It seems Ziggy is pretty frightened and there is nothing
I can do about it.

I think, though, that Ziggy has come up with a plan. He no-
tices that the mean cat has a curfew, and can't be out past
6 PM. Furthermore, the other cat's human doesn't let him
out of the house until 8 AM. Thus Ziggy has identified a win-
dow of opportunity when he can roam to his heart's content
and not have to contend with that mean old cat. He usually
has his tea (dinner) around 5:30, waits until 6, and then
makes it known he wants to go out. Ziggy camps out at the
back door, meows, and waits for a human to open the door
to let him out. He either meows at the kitchen window to be
let in at 10 or 11, or stays out all night until the early morning.
I tend to get up before 6:15 and find him waiting for me at
the kitchen window to let him in.

Ziggy has studied me since I moved in a year ago, and cor-
rectly recognized that I am a softie and that I am a sucker
for a sweet meow, even at 5:15 AM. Down the hall Margar-
et, Ziggy's primary human and my landlady, is smart and
thus is able to sleep through anything, especially when she
has her hearing aids out. So he comes down to my bedroom
door, meows, and paws at the closed door. Ziggy knows that
I will respond, softie that I am, regardless of the time. Some-
times he will rustle around in my dark room for a while or
take a little catnap, but most of the time Ziggy wants to go
outside for a couple of hours while the mean ol' Siamese cat
is in confinement.

During the day while the mean Siamese cat is at play, Sir Zig-
gy stays indoors and sleeps. He sleeps on Margaret's bed. He
sleeps on the sofa in the living room. He likes to perch on the
inside ledge of the living room picture window with its com-
manding field of vision of the crossroads nearby. From there
he can safely monitor the movement of all cats in the neigh-
borhood. Ziggy also sleeps on my bed or in the leather chair
of my desk. He had mistakenly thought that all he had to do
to keep me from throwing him out was to sleep and look cute.
But he has been cured of that idea. I am happy to report that
I have regained my proper place as lord of my bedroom and
that Ziggy has assumed his place as a guest in my room. I am
not as tender hearted as Sir Ziggy, the Tender Hearted Cat.

Saying My Goodbyes Once Again

Yesterday, Sunday, was my last day as assistant minister of
Cupar Old Parish Church, in Cupar, Scotland. I have now com-
pleted a twelve month familiarization placement at the church.
During the past year I've attended probationary conferences.
studied Church Law, surveyed Scottish Church History, and
attended day-long conferences on a variety of topics. I have
just received my Certificate of Eligibility and am now consid-
ered a Church of Scotland minister. I am waiting to be called to
a specific charge someplace in Scotland. I have sensed God's
leading the past six years I've been here in Scotland, and ex-
pect God's continued leading in the years ahead.

Last November it felt great to get back into congregational pas-
toral ministry after being away for over five years. I enjoyed
getting back into preaching, leading worship, doing communion
services, conducting funerals, and making pastoral visits in
homes or hospitals. But most of all, I enjoyed entering into the
lives of the people of the church and they into mine. I grew very
fond of many, and I sensed the fondness of many for me. It has
been a wonderful year for me in Cupar and at the church. I grew
more in love of God, more aware of myself, and more involved
in the lives of people of the congregation.

And so when I closed my final prayers of the service on Sunday
I almost lost it. It really hit me hard that I was leaving people
who had become very dear to me. It wasn't any easier when the
congregation honored me at the end of the service and at a re-
ception after the service. My time here in Cupar has been a
very special year for me, and I am so grateful to God for the
time He gave me here.

But as I see one door closing behind me I see another one open-
ing before me. I leave with the blessing of the people I've been
with for this past year, and I realize that a new adventure is open-
ing up in front of me. I don't know where God is leading me, but
I do know that He is leading me into a new situation. I am start-
ing to realize that all of this is quite exciting. If you feel so in-
clined, I ask for your prayers as I receive my new orders.

Blessings to you and yours,

It's Been a 'Dreich' Sort of Day

Dreich is an Old Scots word that sounds as bad as the weather
it describes. The word is used by Scottish people to describe the
weather. A day is dreich if its weather is characterized by at
least four of the following adjectives: overcast, drizzily, dull, cold,
misty, and miserable. So a day that is a dreich day must have at
least four of those as descriptive of the day's weather. When a
Scottish person says dreich to describe the weather, I know that
it is horrible weather.

Well, today was 100% dreich! It was overcast, drizzily, dull, cold,
misty, and miserable, and all of that again. It was a super uchy
type of day. It started early in the morning and is still going
strong late into the night. My skin is starting to rust and my
feet are developing webbing between the toes. I keep singing
'Rain Drops keep falling on my head." But no longer is it sung
to keep Californians out of Washington State, but to keep the
English from moving up into Scotland.

But the day keeps being pure dreich.

Blessings to you and yours,

It's Good to Be Back

Boy, is it good to be back to blogging! The past eighteen months
have been quite challenging for me, but richly rewarding. I
have been stretched to the limit, yet I have repeatedly experi-
enced God's steadfast love and faithfulness. Now I feel that I
have a little time to catch my breath before I go on to the next
chapter of my life.

I regret that I have not kept friends and family informed of
what has been happening in my life since my last blog way
back in May. I am doing very well. I conducted funerals on
Wednesday and Thursday, received my Certificate of Eligi-
bility from the Church of Scotland last night (something I
have been working on for the last 12 months), and submit-
ted my last essay, a Church History essay, this morning.
My autumn has been quite busy with all types of things
that had to be done.

But the main thing I want you to know is that I am doing very
well, and I look forward to the next season of my life. I will be
blogging more now that things have settled down, and I plan
to fill you in on what has been happening in my life since May.

Rich blessings to you and yours,

Blog Dial Down

My time will get very tight in the coming month of June when I will
be finishing and then resubmitting my thesis by July 2. I will also be
tending to Cupar Old Parish Church, a fairly large church for Scot-
land, when my colleague goes on a personal retreat and then an ex-
tended holiday in June and July. I expect I will be especially pressed
for time in June. Therefore I am putting the blog on hold until I get
through June and into July. I appreciate you remembering me in your
prayers.


Blessings to you and yours. Over and out.

Gaining Momentum

Just recently my ministry colleague/supervisor at Cupar Old Parish
Church and I met with a representative from the Presbytery of St.
Andrews, and the same from the national office of the Church of Scot-
land. We met for the six-month evaluation of my one year placement
at Cupar Old Parish Church. I was quite pleased with the results of
the meeting and felt affirmed in my ministry.

My ministry colleague, Rev. Dr. Ken Jeffrey, asked about when I could
start looking for a permanent placement with a congregation. He expres-
sed his belief that I am ready to move on as soon after my end date of
October 31, as possible. The representative from the Church of Scotland
said that I could not accept a call to minister in a congregation until after
my final evaluation at the end of my probationary time. But he said he
would arrange to have mine early in September. That's the earliest time
he could convene an evaluation panel. Wow! I still can't believe I'm doing
this. This is exciting!

Ken will be away June and July for spiritual retreat and holiday. He
feels confident enough in me to put me in charge for that time. I hope it
will not be too busy. I will be doing a sermon series on the book of Ephe-
sians. I continue to carry on with my thesis. It is due by July 2, but I
may be submitting it by mid June. With so much to do over the past
six months I have certainly been developing my time management
skills. I am serious about the wise use of my time. It has been good for
me to develop in this area. Meanwhile there is no word on the process
of my visa from my immigration attorney. Anyway, I don't have any
time to seriously work on my visa until my thesis is submitted.

All the best to you and yours,

Force Multipliers for Christ's Kingdom

Last Sunday night I was excited. On the first and third Sundays of
the month there is an informal evening service at the parish hall of
the church where I serve as assistant minister. I often lead the even-
ing service, but because I had preached at the morning service, one
of the retired ministers led us in a communion service.

Last Sunday night after the service, three of us joined together as a
prayer group. There are normally six or seven of us, but several reg-
ulars were away for the weekend. For several years the group has
met after the evening service to pray for a long list of people and con-
cerns. It has been a privilege to meet with them ever since I first met
with them last November.

Before we prayed I asked the other two about the healing prayer con-
ference they had attended the day before. They shared with me their
desire to set up a healing prayer team composed of at least twelve peo-
ple from the five churches here in Cupar. They were eager to pray for
people and witness Jesus heal and transform the lives of sick and hurt-
ing people.

We had not been praying too long when a 30-something man walked
in the room and asked for our help. We invited him into our circle and
then chatted with him for a good long while. Some of his stories were
rather far out and wild, and I wondered if he might have released him-
self from the psychiatric hospital just outside of town.

It surprised me that he did not ask for money, but offered to give a lot
of money to the church. (Later he confessed that he did not have any
money at all). We listened to him and tried to answer a variety of ques-
tions that he posed. We offered to pray for him, but he backed away
from that.

I continued to talk with him alone outside the building. It was a good
chat, mainly about Jesus and about our need for him. I prayed a short
blessing for him, and soon he was off into the stillness of the night. My
heart really went out to him.

But what excited me was the eagerness of my two woman prayer com-
panions to reach out to this stranger and to minister to him in Jesus'
name and in the power of the Holy Spirit. They truly are prayer war-
riors. They were not discouraged by this encounter, but they talked
about wanting to do this type of ministry on a regular basis.

There is a tendency here in the Church of Scotland for her members to
expect the salaried ministers such as myself to do all the ministry-type
things. In contrast to this is the desire of these two women to do minis-
try themselves, and that really excites me! They desire to be force mul-
tipliers for Christ's Kingdom and not leave it up to the ministers such as
myself. My heart was thrilled to see them in action. I am starting to re-
cognize more members of the Scottish churches who also sense a calling
from God to become involved in ministry. They truly are force multi-
pliers for Christ's Kingdom!

All the best, and blessings to you and yours,

What's Up?

The hours of daylight have been changing since the
change of time a couple of weeks ago. In January it was
dark until late morning, and dark again around 4:30.
Even though I wake up early there is plenty of daylight
now. The days are slowly growing longer. We have had
some glorious days of sunlight over the past several
weeks. But this is Scotland, and the weather can change
very quickly and quite often.

I thought I would share with you what I have been doing
during the last two weeks of April. I have been busy, but
I continue enjoying what I'm doing at this time. Basically
I focus on church work that takes up between 45 and 50
hours a week. As a probationer minister I was told to try
to do no more than 40 hours of church work a week. Yeah,
right.

I continue to enjoy the one year I was granted to work on
my thesis. I think I am starting to comprehend the trauma
that the 2006 cardiac surgery had on my system, especially
my mental functions. Sometimes I wonder if I haven't recov-
ered my mental agility to the level I was at before the sur-
gery. Regardless, I enjoy the process of working on my the-
sis and look forward to being finished with it soon.

Since I preach every two weeks, I use the week before I
preach to prepare the sermon. It use to take me about
12 hours to prepare a sermon; now it takes me about six.
I'm slowly getting back up to speed after being away from
pastoral ministry for over five years. I'm looking forward
to preaching through the book of Ephesians in June and
July when my colleague, Rev. Dr. Ken Jeffrey, is away on
a well-deserved two months sabbatical. He is confident
that I'll be able to keep the church on track while he's
away.

I try to do six to eight pastoral visits a week to elderly peo-
ple who are no longer able to attend church. Some of the
conversations have been quite precious. A large number
of them are in their 80s, and a few are in their 90s. Some
conversations are half an hour in length, and some can be
nearly two hours. It is a privilege to visit with them. I have
made over 60 visits with around 50 more to visit.

I have done several nursing home services. Yesterday I
used my iPod and portable speakers to play several
hymns I had downloaded from the iTunes store. Some of
the people joined in singing, others just listened to the
hymns. They really enjoyed that. I am also being called
on more frequently to conduct funerals. I had one last
Saturday and am preparing for one next Monday. I am
finding funerals to be a good time to minister to and
serve others. I actually enjoy doing funerals.

I must make time to do things essential for living, like
grocery shopping, cooking, sleeping, and having some
down time. I have found it hard to take a full day off, so
I have been taking parts of days off twice a week. It has
worked out quite well for me.

Blessings, and all the best to you and yours,

Christ Is Risen! He Has Risen Indeed!

I had a wonderful and glorious week that began on Palm
Sunday and reached a crescendo on the Sunday past as
Cupar Old Parish Church celebrated Jesus Christ's death
on the Cross and His Resurrection from the dead. It was
a very special week for me.

The special week began on Palm Sunday with a young boy
representing Jesus riding on a donkey from the church
hall to the church down the street. A large group of chil-
dren and their parents followed Jesus and the donkey
shouting hosannahs as we processed to the church. The
congregation followed closely behind singing Palm Sunday
songs and hymns. We all had quite a delightful time prais-
ing the Lord in the morning service.

In recent years the ministers of the five churches in town
have sponsored evening Holy Week services. This year
they were held at the Scottish Episcopal Church congrega-
tion in town. Each of the speakers was assigned a passage
from the Gospel of John to speak on. We were also told to
keep the service short. Sheila, the minister of the other
Church of Scotland congregation in town, led us on Mon-
day. Fr. Pat of the Roman Catholic church spoke on Tues-
day. On Wednesday I spoke from John 13:21-32 about the
Cross being the glory of both Jesus and the Father.

But the highlight of the week was Thursday and Friday.
On Thursday Anne, the minister of the host church, led
us in a Maunday Thursday service of foot washing and
communion. It concluded with the stripping of the altar
as the congregation read Psalm 22. On Good Friday Bill,
the minister of the Baptist church in town, gave a very
powerful message about Jesus' death on the Cross. A mem-
ber of his church took the part of a Roman centurion who
had a role in the crucifixion of Jesus. It was a very moving
service.

Earlier Friday afternoon, there had been a Good Friday pil-
grimage. A large crowd of us walked from church to church.
At each of the five churches we heard Scripture readings
about Jesus' walk to Golgotha and sang spiritual songs to
Jesus. It, too, was a very special time for me as I pondered
what Jesus had done for us.

Easter Sunday was a glorious day! I took part in a 8AM
Easter service at the top of the Hill of Tarvit that over-
looks our town of Cupar. There was a brilliant sun, but
it was still a wee bit chilly and windy. I was able to look
over the valley in which our town of Cupar is cradled. Ken,
the minister I work with at Cupar Old, gave a Resurrec-
tion Day message. There were people from all the churches
in Cupar. It was really a great way to enter into the spirit
of Resurrection Sunday. But the highpoint of this special
day was the worship at the packed out sanctuary at Cupar
Old.

After the church service I had a nice Easter meal with some
friends from church, and then went home and had a great
Sunday nap. Nothing could be better!

Christ is risen! He has risen indeed!

Blessings, and all the best to you and yours,

Visa Update

There is still no news from my immigration attorney and I
have not filed any papers with the Immigration Bureau. I
have sent four letters of reference to my attorney and she
is working on my next step. All I can do now is stay tuned
and continue doing my ministry placement and working on
my thesis submission. The worst case scenario is that I
would return to the USA for a month or so and enter Scot-
land with another visa. I would love to return to the States
for a visit, but don't I don't want to disrupt the ministry I
am doing here in Scotland. We'll see. As usual, I covet your
prayers.

Blessings, and all the best,

Community, Marriage, and Kids: Signs of Life

One thing that I will always cherish about my time at the Universi-

ty of St. Andrews is my experience of community among the Divin-
ity postgraduate students and their families.Before I arrived in St.
Andrews, I expected that I would be alone, isolated, and complete-
ly absorbed in my research.

But it has not been like that at all. Not only have I been enriched
by the women and men who were my fellow doctoral students,but
I have been blessed by their husbands or wives, and children. I
do not think that I would have recovered so well from my heart
surgery two and a half years ago if I had not had the support of
this community. I am so grateful to the Lord for bringing them in-
to my life the past five years. They (as well as others from through-
out my life) have enriched me in so many ways.

In this small community of expat postgraduate students and their

families I have also witnessed husbands and wives who take their
marital vows seriously and who make living out those vows a pri-
ority in their lives together. This is done in the face of great aca-
demic pressure. In spite of the vast majority of my colleagues be-
ing married, I have been affirmed in my singleness. I only hope
that my singleness encourages other singles and affirms the rela-
tionships of those who are married.

It thrills my heart to see couples taking marriage seriously, espe-
cially n the Western world where marriage is rarely respected or
affirmed. In the face of this tragic degradation of marriage stands
the uplifting of the beauty of marriage. It reflects the way that
God created women and men for one another.

But what strikes me most is the explosive number of births of chil-
dren among University postgrad families, especially those from the
US and Canada. I have seen so many couples come here without
children and leave with at least the firstborn and one completed
doctoral thesis. Others return to the US with one or two more chil-
dren than when they first came to St. Andrews.

Earlier in the month a group of St. Mary's Postgraduate families
and friends gathered together to say farewell to a family return-
ing to Arizona. I was amazed at the presence of two newborns, one
infant less than a year old, and a large group of children bouncing
off the walls and running and screaming outside on the lawn.

Also attending the farewell gathering was a friend, a PhD student
in Old Testament studies, who was there with her husband. She
looked as if she would give birth to her firstborn well before deliv-
ering her doctoral thesis to the university. I was reminded of how
much life there is in this community at the university. I have missed
seeing that ever since I left St. Andrews nearly a year ago. It stands
in sharp contrast to the larger society that does not tend to value
children and family.

I firmly believe that life in community, the quality of marriages, and
the abundance of children are signs of new life that only Jesus Christ
can give. In a truly dark world, only Jesus brings life and light.

Blessings and all the best to you and yours,

Regaining My Confidence Upfront

When I came to Cupar Old Parish Church in November of
last year, it had been over five years since I had preached
or led a worship service. I was pretty rusty the first couple
of months, especially when I preached. But my confidence
has been coming back, especially with leading portions of
the service. I'm making good headway with my preaching,
but still have a lot to work on.

I spend considerable time preparing for either the opening
prayers of adoration and confession in the first part of the
service or the prayers of thanksgiving and intercession in
the second part of the service. It includes choosing several
hymns or praise and worship songs. People seem to like
my style.

I often do the childrens' address in the first half of the serv-
ice and spend a good amount of time preparing for them. I
have done hundreds of childrens' addresses since the mid-
1970s, but they are always a challenge. I enjoy using my
imagination to craft an address that kids will listen to. I al-
ways feel good when there are children who repeat back to
me the main message. I am amazed at how many adults talk
about the childrens' addresses. I wish they would talk about
the sermons that way. Maybe there is something to be learned
here about the way we preach.

Last Sunday I shared with the kids that there is a God, that
God is good, and that God loves them. After the service an
excited mum ran up to me and shared that her eight-year-old o
son had told her in the car coming to church that he did not
believe there was a God and that there is nothing after death.
I was astonished that a boy his age would be thinking that
deeply. She was almost giddy that the childrens' address
seemed to have spoken directly to him. She said he was really
quiet when he came back to where he had been sitting. The
mother was so excited.

I'm preaching every two weeks at either the morning service
or bi-weekly evening service. I sense there is still a lot of work
to be done with my preaching. But I have been receiving good
feedback from people that has encouraged me. I have been en-
joying using my imagination as I prepare to preach. I was heart-
ened last Sunday when I greeted a church regular. She asked
if I was preaching that morning. When I told her I was not, she
responded that it was a pity that I was not. That made my day.

All the best to you and yours,

Sitting, Sipping a Dram, and Listening

One of the joys of my twelve month familiarization placement at
Cupar Old Parish Church in Cupar, Scotland, is visiting people in
their homes. The minister of Cupar Old has given me the names
and addresses of 117 people to visit during the course of my time
here. So far I've done over forty visits. They are usually widows
or widowers, and in their 70s or 80s. I have visited a few in their
90s. The vast majority are women, with only a handful of men.
Generally they are members of the church, but attend only on
the four communion Sundays per year.

I was advised to do my visits cold turkey; in other words, I don't
phone ahead. I just knock on the door. But in many cases, the chal-
lenge has been to even find the door. Rather than numbered street
addresses, many of the older residences only have place names such
as 'Moatview', 'Hillside', 'Rosewood Cottage', and 'Farlie Cottage'. It
has often taken me a bit of time to find them only to find that the per-
son was not in. But at least I knew then where that person lived.

I always wear a clerical collar when I make my visits. When a per-
son comes to the door I introduce myself as 'Reverend Jeff Tipp-
ner from Cupar Old', and then give them my card. Two women
didn't want a visit and one woman seemed to freak out on seeing
me. In those cases I just move on to another visit. But most of the
time I am invited in and given hospitality. People often offer me
tea or coffee. I usually ask for a tea, and especially enjoy it when
they offer a plate of 'biscuits' (cookies). The other day a kindly 90-
year old gentleman offered me a 'dram' of whiskey. Even though I
don't fancy whiskey, the way he asked me gave me the impression
that it would have been unacceptable to refuse. I guess I passed the
test because we got along quite well. He told me he made the drink
half whiskey and half water. I sipped it and rather enjoyed it. It was
a first for me. I'm sorry whiskey fans.

I guess there is a buzz around town that Cupar Old has its very
own American minister! So I play it for all it's worth. At the be-
ginning of a visit they are often very interested in me. So I tell
them a lot about myself. But most of the time they soon feel
comfortable enough to share about themselves. So I sit and lis-
ten; sometimes for twenty minutes or so, and sometimes for an
hour or more. It is a privilege to hear them share.

One gentleman shared with me about surprizing his mum in Aber-
deen in early May, 1945, the last week of World War II in Europe.
He had been captured by the Germans just before he could be evac-
uated from Dunkirk in 1940. He spent the duration of the war as a
Prisoner of War in Germany. The people I've visited have told me
wonderful stories from their lives, showed me pictures of grand- and
great grandchildren, shared their pain of sons and daughters cutting
off all communication with them, and told about life in Cupar in days
long pass. I sit and listen, and let them determine how long I stay. It
is always a privilege to be with them.

I sense that some of them are well supported by family and
friends. For others I make a note to drop by again in a month or
two to check in with them. It has been a wonderful experience for
me.

Blessings, and all the best to you and yours,

Living in Scotland and the Issue of Tea

The meaning of 'tea' is often very confusing to me and many other
North Americans living over here in Great Britain, especially for
those of us who relate to mixed groups of Scots and the English. I
will write more about the Brits in a later blog. But now I want to
focus on the issue of tea.

In St. Andrews, especially at the University, there are two main
groups: the English and the Scottish people. Both are considered
British. (North Americans form one of the largest groups as well).
A big problem for me is what each group means by 'tea.' To North
Americans, 'tea' is a hot drink along with coffee and hot chocolate.
(I prefer hot chocolate, but if not offered, chose tea over coffee).
So when I was volunteering at a Christian retreat center in Eng-
gland last summer, tea was offered after dinner.

My problem came in November when I moved to Cupar, a very
Scottish town. I was often asked if I had my tea yet. Even cats
have 'tea' set out for them in the early evening. After many funer-
als there is usually a 'funeral tea." In most Scottish contexts, it re-
fers to a substantial meal in the late afternoon or early evening. I
rather enjoy being invited over for tea.

The problem is for a North American such as myself to determine
whether I am being invited to a tea in the English sense of the
word or in the Scottish sense. Earlier on when I was newer in Scot-
land I misinterpreted the invitation for tea. There were times when
I did not eat before hand, went to a tea expecting to eat well, and
had to eat a lot of biscuits with my tea to quell a growling stomach.
There were other times when I ate before the tea, and found a mag-
ficent spread of food upon my arrival. Such is life.

Blessings and all the best to you and yours,

Preaching Again

Yesterday, Sunday, March 1st, I preached from Mark 1:9-15 at Cupar
Old Parish Church. It was the first Sunday of Lent and I sought to en-
courage people to keep their eyes on Jesus during the forty days until
Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I compared the Christian life with go-
ing to a ceilidh, a Scottish dance. I likened Jesus coming to be baptized
with Jesus coming onto the dance floor to do a Scottish Sword Dance.
It turned out to be a very meaningful image for people in the congrega-
tion. I was struck by the power of imagination to strike a chord in peo-
ples' hearts. I received considerable positive feedback from people.

On Sunday I felt confident and comfortable up in the pulpit. I sensed it
coming two weeks ago when I preached from Malachi 4. But last Sun-
day I felt confident enough to refrain from relying on reading from my
sermon manscript, but keeping steady eye contact with the congrega-
tion. It was a big step for me. Until midNovember of last year, I really
hadn't preached a real sermon since August, 2003, when I was in
South Dakota. I had grown rusty when it came to preaching. I can feel
that it is all starting to come back to me now. I'm looking forward to
preaching every two weeks during my placement here at Cupar Old.

Blessings to you and yours,

The Four Challenges Before Me

Every morning when I wake up I am faced with four key challenges.
The first challenge is to obtain a visa to remain here in Scotland as a
minister with the Church of Scotland. At this point I do not know
whether or not I will be successful in that endeavour. The second
challenge is to continue the steady work on my thesis that has to be
resubmitted by the 2nd of July. I would like to finish it by late April
or early May. The third is to continue my familiarization placement
with the Cupar Old Parish Church. That means I assist in leading
Sunday worship, preach twice a month, do pastoral visitation, con-
duct funerals, and enter into the daily life and mission of the congre-
gation. I am constantly wrestling with how to complete my thesis
and carry out my church placement. I find myself doing a constant
juggling act.

Far more important than these three, however, is the fourth chal
lenge: how I face these challenges before the face of the Triune God.
So throughout each and every day I have to be reminded of the Fa-
ther's purposeful love for me, of Christ's atoning death on my behalf,
and of the Spirit's empowering presence to enable me to grow graci-
ously and gracefully in Jesus. The first three challenges are only for
varying seasons of my life. Some may be for a long duration and others
only for a week. The number of them can also vary. But as long as I
live, and even into eternity, it is the fourth challenge that gives every-
thing else perspective and leads to deep and abiding joy in the jour-
ney of my life.

Blessings to you and yours,

Visa Update

I spent last week, February 16-20, talking to people in St. Andrews
and Edinburgh who have knowledge of immigration issues. I was ad-
vised to seek the services of an immigration attorney. I contacted
the six legal services that had been referred to me with no success.
Late last Friday afternoon a legal clinic in Glasgow called me back
and arranged for me to come in on Tuesday, February 24. Yester-
day I met with Nicola, the legal counsel assigned to my case. I like
her because she is a thoroughly Irish lass, exhibits considerable
spunk, and is committed to working with me to get me a new
visa. She firmly believes that my plan to appeal my recent minis-
ters' visa refusal would fail. After hearing my situation she is ex-
ploring other options that have a greater possibility of success.
Nicola explained that the British Home Office that handles visas
is quite rigid and inflexible. She made it quite clear that there is
considerable likelihood that my case will not succeed. It just does
not make any sense to me. I can see why I am not a lawyer. I do
not think the way lawyers and judges think. Despite that, I com-
municated my desire to work as hard as I can to put together the
best case we can to present at an immigration hearing. So now
Nicola is studying different ways to handle my case and I am gather-
ing more documentation. We'll see what happens.

As always, I covet your prayers.

Blessings and all the best to you and yours,

Good News/Bad News

I cannot believe that it has been over a month since
I last wrote on my blog! I'll try to do better and post
blogs more frequently.

First the good news. I had been concerned that my
application for a visa for permission to remain as a
minister of religion had not been returned to me. I
had submitted it back in late August. In mid-January
I called the Immigration Bureau to enquire about
the status of my application. I was informed that it
had been mailed to my previous address way back
in November. They did acknowledge that my new
address had been received well before they sent
me the packet, but the packet had still been sent
to the old address. No one at the old address re-
membered seeing such a package for me and no
one had any idea what had happened to the pack-
age.

Finally, on the day before Valentine's Day, a good
friend whom I had asked to see what he could do,
found it. It was at a regional post office that served
my old address. He called to tell me he was send-
ing the parcel up to me. It was truly a Valentine's
gift! It is unsettling to be in a foreign country with-
out a passport. I expected my passport to have my
new visa in it as well. It had been over five months
that I was without personal legal documentation.
It was such a relief to have my passport!

But now the bad news: immigration authorities re-
fused to grant me a visa as a minister of religion in
the United Kingdom. I was not allowed to stay here.
Applicants for such a visa were required to have
served in a ministerial capacity for at least one year
in the last five years. I had last been in a ministerial
position six years ago, but not within the last five.
That was the only reason they gave for the refusal.

I have ten working days to appeal the decision. I
can remain in the UK while the appeal is being con-
sidered. I have decided to go ahead and submit an
appeal within the time alotted, ten working days.
If my appeal is refused, I will have to leave the coun-
try.

I have spent these last three days seeking ad-
vice and legal counsel. There have been a lot of
dead ends, but I'm still waiting on one last immi-
gration attorney. If I don't receive any help, I'll
present the appeal myself.

I'm doing ok. This is quite a challenge for me, but
one that I believe can be worked out to my advan-
tage.

If you pray for me, please remember this chal-
lenge to me in your prayers.

Blessings to you and yours,

Back in the Pulpit Again

Well, I'm back in the pulpit again/oh, I'm back in the pulpit
again!

Until my arrival at Cupar Old Parish Church in November
I had not participated in leading congregational worship in
any way since August, 2003. Since coming here I've partici-
pated in Sunday services and preached four times. Because
the minister was on holiday just after Christmas, I planned
and led the entire January 4th service. It was also the first
time I preached back to back Sundays since 2003. I really
enjoyed preaching and leading the congregation in worship-
ping God.

In mid November-when I preached for the first time in five
years- I felt so out of shape. It took some time to craft the
message and my delivery was extremely rusty. Although
the feedback was charitable, I really lost my confidence. I
knew it was there, it just took a while to reappear. Last
Sunday was my fourth time preaching here and I sensed
that it was starting to come back to me. The last two times
I have started to feel my confidence and form returning. I
am scheduled to be preaching every two weeks, either at
the morning service or at the bi-weekly evening service.

I have missed being a pastor and preacher. Now I am soak-
ing it all up, as much as I can get. I had to put that on hold
for four years while I was at the University of St. Andrews.
Yet I firmly believe that God called me to be at the univer-
sity and to work on a thesis. And so, I am realizing that I
have an exciting time to do what I really feel called to do:
to be a pastor and to continue working on my thesis. For
me nothing could be better.

As always, I ask for your prayers on my behalf.

Blessings to you and yours,

2008-Surprised by God

It is the downward side of New Year's Day as I write this. It
has been a quiet day for me to reflect on the past year and
look forward to the New Year. The best way for me to de-
scribe 2008 is to share that I was totally surprised by God.

I ended 2007 and began 2008 with Steve and Ellen Wilcox
in my hometown of Longview, WA. They are great friends
who have blessed me in so many ways throughout my years
of ministry. It was good to be home as I prepared for the
next era of my life. I vowed to continure to yield my life to
God's direction as I soaked up being back in my hometown.

I submitted my thesis to the University of St. Andrews in
mid-January, but did not have my panel review until May.
Although I was disappointed that my thesis was not accepted
at that time, I have realized how much I welcome the extra
time to continue to work on it. After more than four years of
intensive labor on it, I'm still not tired of it. I've enjoyed be-
ing able to continue working on it. I just wish that my panel
had been earlier than May. I had considerable down time be-
tween my submission in January and my review in May.
That period was pretty unproductive. Oh well, it still
worked out well for me.

Then God surprised me with the opportunity to do volunteer
work at a Christian retreat centre on Holy Island/Lindisfarne.
I prepared rooms for guests, cleaned toilets, washed dishes,
led noon and evening prayer, and helped out in any way I
could. The main thing was that I was able to do low-key pas-
toral ministry. I was able to hear what the Spirit was doing
in the USA, Canada, Norway, Germany, New Zealand, Aus-
tralia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, especially England.
I had initially offered to be there four to six weeks, but thank-
fully I was there sixteen weeks. It is one of the highlights of
a lifetime in ministry.

Then I was surprised by God again when I was invited to be
the residential chaplain at St. Deiniol's Library in Wales for
the month of October. That was completely unexpected. The
meal conversations, celebrating the eucharist on week day
mornings, and meeting people from all over the English-speak-
ing world was so enriching. I will never forget my time there.

Then I continue to be surprised by God as a result of his lead-
ing me here to the Old Parish Church in Cupar, Scotland. I have
been sent here for twelve months to become familiar with the
Church of Scotland. It is part of the process of transferring my
ordination from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to the Church
of Scotland. I've been here two months and I have felt wel-
comed by the town of 8500 as well as by the church. I'm meet-
ing lots of people, learning my way around the town, and feel-
ing at home in my accommodation. Ziggy the cat has made
sure that I have been instructed to cater to his every need.

I have truly been surprised by God, and truly blessed.

Blessings to you and yours,